Totem Pole for Beaver House
Object Label
Dr. Charles Newcombe, an avid collector of Northwest Coast art for many museums, obtained this pole from the village of Kayang in 1911 and had it cut in half in order to ship it to the Brooklyn Museum.
Poles such as this one display a family's origins, supernatural experiences, achievements, wealth, status, exploits, acquisitions, and territories. Photographs from Kayang, Queen Charlotte Islands, identify this example as the front pole of the "Beaver House," owned by the T'uwa clan of the Raven group. Its carved crests represent beings that, according to clan legend, an ancestor encountered. Only the descendants of the clan are believed to have the right to depict this story.
Caption
Haida. Totem Pole for Beaver House, mid–19th century. Cedar wood, (a) section: 264 x 39 1/2 x 27 in., 1200 lb. (670.6 x 100.3 x 68.6 cm, 544.3kg) (b) section: 234 x 44 x 33 in., 1650 lb. (594.4 x 111.8 x 83.8 cm, 748.4kg) storage (CRATE made 2009 by Surroundart for 'a' with top Bird detached): 53 × 50 × 242 in. (134.6 × 127 × 614.7 cm) storage (CRATE made 2009 by Surroundart for 'b'): 56 × 50 × 253 in. (142.2. Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1911, Purchased with funds given by Robert B. Woodward, 11.703a-b.
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Culture
Title
Totem Pole for Beaver House
Date
mid–19th century
Geography
Place made: Q'aayang (Kayang) Village, Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia, Canada
Medium
Cedar wood
Classification
Dimensions
(a) section: 264 x 39 1/2 x 27 in., 1200 lb. (670.6 x 100.3 x 68.6 cm, 544.3kg) (b) section: 234 x 44 x 33 in., 1650 lb. (594.4 x 111.8 x 83.8 cm, 748.4kg) storage (CRATE made 2009 by Surroundart for 'a' with top Bird detached): 53 × 50 × 242 in. (134.6 × 127 × 614.7 cm) storage (CRATE made 2009 by Surroundart for 'b'): 56 × 50 × 253 in. (142.2
Credit Line
Museum Expedition 1911, Purchased with funds given by Robert B. Woodward
Accession Number
11.703a-b
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